Kevin King
Google
As cliché as it may sound, my partner and I are very generous tippers. We enjoy supporting good service and good people—especially when we’re out to support our friends, like we were this night at Sagebrush in Taos. But after the experience we had with bartender Katie Rose, there was no way I could justify leaving more than a minimal tip that accurately reflected the rude and dismissive service we received. She was happy to serve us attitude, and I was more than happy to tip accordingly. I’m sure her regulars will take care of her—what good are two more customers when you already have your favorites?
We arrived in good spirits, ordered our first drinks, and sat at the bar. After finishing our drinks, we were ignored repeatedly—Katie walked past us several times without acknowledging us. After a long wait, we politely got her attention with a simple, “Miss, can we get another drink?” to which she responded with an aggressive attitude as if we were bothering her just for asking.
When we finally got our second round, my margarita was half full and extremely watered down. I politely asked why it wasn’t poured the same way as the first. She rolled her eyes, claimed she “added more ice,” dumped it into a smaller cup, made a mess in the process, and said, “This is what we normally serve. Trust me, I make these a hundred times a day.” Her entire demeanor was condescending and dismissive.
To make things worse, Katie then went and spoke to security, and shortly afterward, we were blatantly cut off after just two drinks—one of which was barely a full serving. Security looked us up and down with attitude, and without any explanation, Katie printed our check before we even finished eating. She started scooting us over to make room for her regulars. The message was loud and clear: we weren’t welcome.
We were calm and respectful the entire time. We didn’t argue, didn’t raise our voices, and didn’t match her energy. We simply came to support our friends in the band and enjoy our night. But her attitude toward us, compared to how she treated her regulars, was night and day.
As someone who owns businesses and is studying law, I take service and presentation seriously. Serving a guest a glass half full of mostly ice is not just lazy—it’s misleading. And treating first-time guests like they’re a burden is a guaranteed way to lose potential loyal customers. But again, I’m sure Katie Rose doesn’t care. We’re not regulars, and to her, we probably never mattered to begin with.
The food was okay, shoutout to the kitchen staff. It’s just a shame that kind of service taints the whole experience. If you’re having a bad day, that’s okay. We all do. But take the night off instead of taking it out on the guests.